Despite doubts of the future for the Envision duo, both Robin Frijns and Sébastien Buemi will remain at Envision for Season 11 after an impressive late season performance.
Robin Frijns has been with Envision racing since 2018. For 2022 he raced for ABT Cupra but after a tough season he swiftly returned to Envision where he has spent the majority of his Formula E career.
In Frijns' first year in Envision, he achieved his highest career finish, coming 4th in the championship, taking two wins and four podiums. Unfortunately, he struggled to recreate that result. He subsequently finished 12th, fifth, seventh, 22nd and this year; ninth.
This inconsistency in results led to doubt on whether the 32-year-old Dutch driver would continue with Envision into Season 11 of the Formula E championship. In the first half of the season, Frijns had two retirements, three no point finishes, and he was missing the entirety of the Berlin round because of conflicts with WEC.
However, after Shanghai, Robin Frijns achieved points finishes in four out of six races, two of which were second-place finishes. His impressive late season performances in Portland especially, gaining back-to-back podiums, clearly played a role in the decision to renew Frijns's contract despite the rumors of a potential move by Stoffel Vandoorne to the team.
Frijns' teammate, Sébastien Buemi, will also be remaining with Envision for 2025. Buemi has been a part of Formula E since the beginning of the series. Winning the championship in the second season and finishing second in the series three times.
Until 2020, he had not finished below 4th in the championship. However, in 2020, after having two disqualifications and only three point finishes, Buemi finished 21st in the championship with Nissan. He continued with Nissan for 2021 but after finishing 15th; he made the move to envision.
At Envision, Buemi returned to the podium for the first time in two years and seemingly blended with the team far better than his final years at Nissan. 2022 saw the swiss driver finish sixth overall.
Sébastien Buemi also started 2024 on a high, coming second in the first race of the season. Unfortunately, that was one of only two point finishes in the first half of the season. Also missing out on Berlin because of WEC commitments. But much like his teammate, Buemi impressed in the final races of the season.
Seemingly, Shanghai was a turning point for both drivers and his season also ended with four out of six races resulting in points, and a podium in London. Closing out the season with 11th in the championship overall.
In the end, despite several months of Envision supposedly looking for alternatives and considering replacing one or both of their drivers, the second half of the season showed the team the value of the drivers they have.
It wasn't just the driver performances, the Envision car in Season 10 had not been where the team had wanted it. At times, it was a tenth off in qualifying.
Envision team principal Sylvain Filippi said: “It's great to have continuity in our driver line-up as Sebastien and Robin lead us into Season 11.
“Despite Season 10 not being our strongest year, we are confident that the momentum we gained in the closing rounds can be taken into next season and put us back where we want to be.”
Envision was open that if they could be consistent with driver line-up, they would, but results mattered. Luckily, Buemi and Frijns proved they can bring the results and overcome the struggles of a tough season. Securing their line-up for 2025.
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